A shell of blood
by Lanny-Sama
Summary: In a battle against a strong Kishin soul, Maka is knocked out. Soul disappears and Maka thinks he is dead. But when Soul returns, there is nothing left of who he was. Nothing but one name that kept repeating itself in his head. Full sum inside. MakaxSoul.
1. The Beginning

**Well, I've had this idea in my mind for about a week. And since I've lost interest in my old fanfic (not SE) I feel like doing a new one ! **

**Oh, and btw, don't expect real good action story's…I haven't really tried to write action scene's yet. So if you have any criticism, I'd like to hear it.**

**This is PURE Soul x Maka, no other couples unless I feel like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater….yet….*evil grin***

_Full summary: Maka is defeated, Soul is kidnapped and is turned into a Demon God. When he returns to Shibusen, they sentence him to death. Can Maka stop his execution ? Does she even want to save him, after he left her all alone._

Maka's POV

Things were supposed to go the right way now, right ? Medusa was killed, and Arachne and her army had recently been defeated. None of his friends were hurt during the fight, No one was seriously injured, and there hadn't been any deaths for she knew….Even the Kishin had been sealed once again. But the number of human souls slowly turning into Kishins was rising at an alarming rate. Also the number of Meisters and Weapons disappearing was increasing rapidly.

The weird thing was, that the Kishin all came out of nowhere…There were deaths… But they seemed natural, not even one human was killed. At least not in the way of cutting them open, or to decapitate them. They just died, and their souls disappeared. And after a few months…weeks…another Kishin soul would turn up, stronger than they should be.

All of those Kishin souls were big and dangerous, like they had been eating souls like their life depended on it. Why was it happening? Was it some new enemy?

Not like it was important now….They were in a fight after all.

'Maka ! Focus ! You could've seen that one coming from miles !!' Soul yelled at her. She didn't answer, she knew Soul didn't expect an answer.

This was another Kishin soul. And like always…There was something…off….

It felt like they were calling out to her, trying to speak with her, trying to connect their soul to hers. It was strange, she had only noticed it a few weeks ago, when she was fighting two Kishins at once, a meister and a weapon.

It felt like they weren't fighting to kill at all…. It didn't matter to her at first. A kishin soul was a kishin soul, and it should be taken. But it was so strange… _Why do they fight me with such fury, while I can feel in their wavelengths that they don't want to fight me at all? _

She jumped into the air, narrowly dodging an arrow that came from the Kishing soul they were fighting. She rotated Soul in her hands to block the arrows that kept flying in her direction. The kishin soul stopped shooting arrows and went for Maka in the air. Maka expected it, she had fought so many Kishin's lately…. And they all seemed to use the same strategy.

They'd throw or shoot things at her in the air, and then try to stomp her down. Without fail, down, never up. The Kishin soul jumped up at her, howling like a wounded wolf and got ready to strike her from below.

Maka calculated the attack. She had already figured out a way to dodge it. _So easy. So predictable. _ She stepped onto the claw that almost ripped her apart and she jumped up ready to slice up the Kishin, but then the unexpected happened. His other arm appeared out of nowhere and hit her at her side, she couldn't protect herself from the destructive blow, and she could feel how a few of her ribs broke.

Soul flew out of her hand, and she could feel how a few of her old wounds from the fight with Arachne ripped open again. _Damn ! I just had those healed…_ She crashed onto the ground, and everything went black.

Soul's POV

He was so distracted lately, even in fights his mind wandered off. And before he knew it, he was flying trough the air, and he saw Maka flying towards the ground. _Shit ! How could've been so distracted!? _He waited with transforming until he reached the ground. _It's taking too much time ! _ Immediately he ran to Maka, and he saw that the Kishin had already made his way to her.

'NO !! KEEP YOUR HAND OFF HER !!' He yelled at the Kishin, desperate for what he might do to Maka. He transformed his arm into a scythe and charged. _We didn't even stand a chance together! What makes me think that I can defeat this Kishin with just me?.......I'm not strong enough._

Like he expected, the Kishin soul dodged the attack, and soon after, he could feel the enormous claw-like hands clamped around his head. Soul could hear his skull cracking under the enormous pressure of the Kishin-claw. He could feel how blood began to stream across his face and he was thrown roughly to the ground. He could feel the bone in his arm breaking and he let out a loud yelp.

_So this is the end ? I can't be the end ! Maka and I... _He struggled to get up, but a foot pushed him down, and he waited for the kishin to rip him apart. But a smooth voice interrupted the scene. " Good work 889, you have done well." The kishin removed his foot from Soul's back. A woman stood before him, she would have been beautiful if not for the psychotic look in her eyes and the grin on her face. She had a lot of scars on her neck and throat, and her hair was long. Her eyes gleamed yellow.

"Soul eater, scythe weapon, already infected with the black blood, high potential. Codename 999." She grabbed his hair and pulled him up. "From now on, you will listen to what I say Soul." Soul struggled to speak, but instead of words, blood came flooding from his mouth. She smiled, and she pulled his shaking body over to Maka's unconscious form. "889, inject her with subject AZ-77." As the Kishin stepped forward to Maka's body with a syringe clumsily clamped in his claws, Soul found his voice.

"N-no ! Wha-What are you –_cough_- doing ?!" He tried desperately to free himself from the woman's grasp, but it was impossible, and the pain almost made him pass out. "Hush hush subject 999, I don't want you to harm yourself." She laughed again as the Kishin injected Maka with the strange substance. "Wha-what…" The woman dropped him to the ground, and he could hear a splashy sound as he fell into a puddle of his own blood.

He tried to crawl towards Maka's shivering form, but the world seemed to spin before his eyes, and he passed out.

**A/N: Okay. This is important for everyone to know. I write for myself and not for others. So I won't be updating frequently. I have more chapters ready at the moment, but I want to have at least a week between the uploads. I hope you like this story. It has been on my mind for quite some time now, and I really hope you will all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Please review. They motivate me to keep writing.**

**~Lanny**


	2. 5 Years of Meantime

**Hey people. It's update-time. The original plan was to wait with the first update until my story had disappeared from the 1st page of the Soul Eater section, but I felt like updating it now, so here it is. I hope you like it. Thanks to all my reviewers, I really apriciate it.**

**I must say that Writing Soul Eater is harder than I thought ! I hope it is okay. It felt way too short and stupid in my opinion, but I tried my best. **

**Enjoy !**

When he woke up again we was strapped to a table, and horrible pains racked his body. When he tried to scream out he found he was gagged, and when he tried to open his eyes a horrible pain struck through his head. He tugged at his restraints but it was no use, and he could feel someone pushing him down on his chest, and soon after a cold shar object sliced through his flesh.

_What is going on ? It hurts ! It HURTS !! MAKA! Where are you ? Help me !!_ Suddenly a small stab in his eye made him spasm in pain and he could feel some sort of liquid entering his eye. The sound of his beating heart and his attempts to screaming and breaking free disguised any other sounds, but he heard voices and laughter.

He fell into some sort of trance, it was so painful, it didn't stop. One moment he was burning, feeling like he was on fire, the other moment he was sure his limbs were no longer attached to his body for he couldn't feel them no more. He was vaguely aware that his tormenters pulled away his gag and pushed something in his mouth. He could do no other thing than swallow it, for they would've pushed it all the way through his throat if he hadn't. He knew that much.

When the pain finally stopped, another kind of torture began. The mental torture. At first he was happy that the horrible pains had finally stopped, and that his wounds could heal, but after the mental torture began the torture seemed like a walk in the park. They were driving him crazy. Images of Maka were filling his mind, he could see things. Horrible things. The most horrible one was the one where he turned into a kishin and brutally murdered Maka. They kept repeating he horrible scene, and even after the torture stopped, the images continued to haunt him.

The wounds on his body were opened once a day, and they stuck 5 needles into his neck every day, and with every injection he could feel his body changing. He couldn't protest, the image of Maka dying, her blood on his hands was keeping him prison in his own mind.

After what seemed years, they left him alone. He was sure he was dead by now. He tried to listen to his heartbeat, but his giggling was blocking out all other sounds. Wait…he was giggling ? Suddenly, a warm hand was placed on his head and the laughter that haunted him wherever he went rang in his ears. "And how did you like your first week here, subject 999 ?" He wanted to scream at her, wanted to rip her apart, but all that escaped his mouth was loud laughter. A week. He'd been here for an entire week.

"Haha…Wha-what have you done ? Hahaha ! Why am I…. Hahahahaa !!" It pained him to speak, and the laughter seemed to have it's own will. "It's a side effect of all the drugs we put in you. You are very promising you know, you are the only one who survived this intensive experiment." She ruffled his hair as if he was her beloved son. Despite his pain he jerked his head upwards and bit down on the soft hand, intending to break every bone inside of it.

"_Soul !! NO !! Don't do it !!" _He let go immediately. "M-a… Makhaahaaka ??" He laughed again as he desperately tried to find to source of the voice. _"Soul ! It was your turn to wash the dishes ! Pff ! Men !!" _ The sound of her voice was all that Soul needed to calm down. He couldn't care less about what it was Maka was saying, but she was here, that was what mattered. "Maka !! Makaaa !" He let out a high pitched laugh that sounded somewhat like a scream.

"She's happy isn't she?" He barely heard the voice on the background as he tried to find Maka's soul length. "But... that won't be that way for long if you don't listen to me." His ears picked up a soft click, and suddenly Maka's voice was screaming. _ "NOO !! NO PLEASE ! Don't ! No AAAHGH !! Soul ! Help me !! Why aren't you helping me ???!! SOUL SOUL SOUULL !!" _

He started to panic, and the restraints he hadn't even known were there were having trouble keeping him restrained. "Maka ! No Maka ! I'm here!!" He was too panicked to notice that he wasn't laughing anymore, and that his voice had changed dramatically. From a slightly slurred and amused tone to a high pitched screaming yell. "You could make it stop Soul. All you have to do is listen to me…." He didn't listen and he kept screaming for Maka, trying to help her.

Suddenly he felt a small stab in his neck, and his entire body slumped to the ground, only held up by the countless chains restraining him. Maka's screams were reduced to pained whimpers and sobs. The voice of the woman was close to his ear as she hissed at him. "Obey me, and I will stop her suffering. Now, eat this." She held something at his lips, it was round, and it seemed to be slightly pulsating. It had a wavelength. A soul. A human soul.

The paralyzing effects were fading away as soon as the needle was pulled from his neck, and he hesitantly opened his mouth. Slender fingers pushed the soul roughly inside. "Eat it ! NOW !" Soul trembled and tried to shake his head, but the power had not yet returned to his neck. The slender fingers wrapped themselves around his neck and suddenly Maka's screams were back, ringing in his ears as if Maka was lying next to him.

In despair Soul swallowed the soul, almost choking on it. As he coughed he could feel some blood dribbling down his chin, but he could only feel relief. Maka's screams had stopped, and were now replaced with her soft and caring voice. It was as if she'd never been hurt at all.

He could feel a grin stretching over his face, and a burning feeling in his stomach spread all over his body, warming his limbs and making his head fuzzy. He was n longer giggling and the rhythmic pounding of his heart lulled him into a deep sleep.

The woman looked down at the pitiful creature that had once been Soul Eater Evans. He was covered in wounds, and the experiments on his body had had horrible effects. The blood seeping from his wounds had dissolved his clothing and replaced his skin. It was very interesting to see. The demon God had his own skin as his clothes, and Subject 999 had it's blood.

The experiment on the eyes was yet to test, and he was still putting up too much resistance. The boxes in his cell were constantly playing Maka's recorded voice. Subject 999 was too far out of it to understand that it was merely a cd-player. She would continue to feed him human souls, and injections of the black blood were necessary too.

After another week she would try to pair him up with one of the other Subjects. That would bring trouble, but Sub. 999 was the most important one in her research, and the meisters she had been trying to turn into demon Gods had been very disappointing. It wouldn't matter if he killed a few of them. After all, only one meister was needed to wield him.

Maka's POV.

_Maka…Maka ! _ Who was that ? "MAKA !!" Suddenly she jolted awake, and she let out a pained gasp. "M-my ribs… Ouch!!" Kid helped her up, Liz and Patty standing next to him. "What happened Maka! Where is Soul ?" Soul ? "You…You mean he's not here ?! NO ! Oh no !! Soul !!" She tried desperately to get up, but the wounds in her side and her broken ribs prevented her from moving.

"Lie down Maka, or you'll bring more harm to yourself!!" Kid pushed her down gently, but Maka refused to lie down. "No Kid ! Soul ! I have to find him !" Kid sighed and pushed her down again. "Maka. Listen to me. I cannot sense his wavelength anywhere near. The Kishin you had been fighting was about to kill you when I showed up, but Soul was nowhere to be seen… Maka, I'm sorry, but I think that he is no longer here."

Maka stared at him. _No longer here ? What is he talking about ?! He couldn't mean that… _She swung her arm at Kid, and she struck him right in the face. "NO ! I WILL NOT ACCEPT IT !!" She tried to jump up, but she collapsed as soon as she stood. She kept crawling though, not ever sure where she had to go. Suddenly two strong hands wrapped themselves around her wrists and she was pulled backwards. Liz, Patty and Kid were restraining her while carrying her back to Shibusen.

Maka was unreasonable, and more than once she'd escape from her sickbed, only to collapse a few meters further. She cried, she yelled, and she had nightmares. Soul leaving her, Soul being killed, Soul killing her. Everything reminded her of Soul, and no one seemed to be able to snap her out of it.

It took her a full month to recover from her injuries, but she didn't choose a new partner. She ran away from her home, and they found her a day later at the place where she had lost Soul. And once, in a fit of rage and sadness she had tried to push Kid through the window, which resulted in a broken window, a stressed out Liz and an angry Kid.

She was still at the top of her class, but the only reason she learned was to keep her mind of Soul. _I failed him. I failed to protect him. He is dead, and it is my fault. My stupid fault… _Her friends had stopped trying to cheer her up after three weeks. They had been shocked with Soul's death, but they had moved on. Maka couldn't move on. Not until she had had her revenge, or until she had found a way to redeem herself for the stupid mistake she had made.

_Soul… I'm so sorry._ That was what she thought until they found the letter. It had been hidden in her pocket, but she hadn't bothered to check her pockets when she was in the hospital. The first sentences of the letter broke her into a thousand pieces and crushed all her hopes of ever being able to have a happy ending.

_Maka,_

_I am leaving. I've been searching for a way out for some time now. You are incapable of making me stronger, you can't wield me at all. When you were knocked out by that weak Kishin I knew I had to leave. I defeated the Kishin, I alone. You were beaten down and I killed it all by myself. It reminded me of your weakness. You are too pathetic to wield me. I will not allow others to abuse my powers any longer. I will no longer accept a master weaken than me. I am leaving Shibusen, I can't become stronger there._

_PS: I do not love you._

_Soul._

She had been in denial for weeks. She refused to believe that Soul wrote the letter. It was impossible. Soul wouldn't …. Couldn't say such horrible things… But after nights of crying and hoping for her death, she began to direct her anger at him. She had been so sad, so broken when she thought he was dead. And then, he had left her a small note, telling her how much he hated her. He wasn't worth crying for.

It took her three weeks to truly believe it.

**I will stop here. I still have some more, but like I said, I want to wait with updating my story for a bit. I hope you guys liked this tidbit of story. Please review !**

**~Lanny**


	3. Meeting again

**Hiya everyone ! Thanks to all my reviewers I decided to upload a new chapter. I feel like I'm rushing the story for a bit, but if I didn't rush it I wouldn't be able to finish it. **

**So this is chapter 3. Please tell me what you think about my story in a review. **

**To the anonymous Reviewer KIM:  
The fact that my story made you cry proves to me that I did an excellent job. I always try to make a story very sad before I give them all a happy ending. even though you didn't like my story, I'm glad you read all through it. **

Soul's POV

_How long have I been here? Weeks ? Months ? Years ? _He greedily ate the souls that were placed in front of him. The restraints no longer bothered him. It was part of his life. He didn't remember anything. All he remembered was pain, and a feeling of al awful loss. But whenever he wanted to discover what he was missing, his head would feel like it could explode any moment. So he let it rest.

53 souls. That was the number they fed him every day and once a week the number of souls would grow. It was the moment he looked forward to, the souls healed his abused body from the countless experiments and made his head spin with the rush over pure power. He opened his mouth again, and some drool hung from the corner of his lips. "I-I'm sorry Sub. 999, but that was the last- AAAHH!!" He bit into her hand an pulled her towards him, as soon as she was within reach, he sunk his teeth into her throat and tore it open. She made a few more strange sounds as she choked on her own blood.

He slipped out his long tongue and wrapped it around the kishin soul. It was less tastier than a human soul, but a soul was a soul. Every day the same cycle repeated itself. He had been happy that he now had an idea of time. In the morning, he would be fed 50 souls, sometimes more when he had been behaving good. After that he would be taken to his least favorite moment of the day: Experiment time.

It wasn't as painful in the beginning, but when they ripped off his armor of black blood his skin would come off too, and it hurt like a bitch. They were also very enthusiastic about his eyes. It hurt to expose them to sunlight, and they had told him that his eyelids had dissolved during experiment 6,4-N, but he suspected that they had removed them. Every day they would remove the blindfold made from black blood and make him show off his power. Opening his eyes brought forth amazing destruction of the mind apparently. He couldn't see a lot, but what he saw was always the same. A white room, filled with failed subjects and experiments. As soon as he opened his eyes they'd scream, thrash around and cry, their minds ripped to shreds by his powerful attack.

But it hurt, and he needed to be fed at least 5 souls to stop the horrible headache that bothered him afterwards. After that he was always put inside a big room full of people. He liked that a lot. He always killed them, he wondered why they wouldn't just give him the souls. Sometimes, he'd have trouble with killing one or two. Then that person would become his wielder.

Then, he and his temporary meister were sent on a mission. Soul never bothered to listen to the description. As soon as he was let out of his restraints he turned into a scythe and rested. No more yelling, just the calming wavelength of his meister. Most meisters would only survive him for 3 days.

The woman, as he called his boss, then locked him up again and sent in his temporary meister to feed him another 50 souls for dinner. At first they'd let him hear the voice that always calmed him down while he was fed, and after the third day they'd leave that out. No one had survived that so far.

He was being carried away in his scythe form. It had changed, he could feel it. It now had a second blade on the other side that pointed the other way then the first blade. And the entire hilt was wrapped up in bandages made of black blood. His weapon form was also ragged at a lot of points, and it was all black, with some black blood seeping out constantly.

Again it was time for some mission, but this time, actual words managed to get through. _Shibusen… Shibusen ? What is Shibusen ?? _The trembling girl that held him in his scythe form let out a small yelp of surprise as his head emerged from the blade. He hadn't spoken in ages, and his face was practically frozen in a crazy grin that showed all his large pointy teeth. "Shi-bu-sen…Bu-sen… Ma…kaa ??" The boss looked slightly alarmed and made a quick gesture to the shy girl that held him.

"C-c-calm d-down, p-p-please, S-soul" He didn't hear her words, his interest was lost when the boss summoned a minion carrying a bucket filled with souls. He immediately changed to his human form and chomped down on the souls. The girl approached him and stroked his head. After the last soul had been swallowed he felt like leaving, but the boss had other plans.

"999. The mission. Remember ? Weapon form. NOW." He obeyed her. If he didn't obey her something horrible would happen, something that would slowly kill him from the inside, something that made him want to break down and cry for a million years. The girl picked him up, having trouble adjusting her wavelength to him.

"Go now, and remember. If he gets out of control, use the remote. Option 2, followed by option 7." The girl nodded and departed. Soul felt uncomfortable, the word shibusen was making his headache return, and he felt very restless even though the girl was trying her best to calm him with soft words and her wavelength.

The feeling on uneasiness was pushed aside when his blade sliced his first victim in twice. The souls around here were bristling with energy, and it was making Soul's mouth water with hunger. The girl wielding him was trembling and trying her best to swing him around as fast as she could while collecting as many souls as possible.

It was the girls job to lead him to the goal, so he could kill it. It had been that way for the 5 years he had been in their grasp. His wielder broke through the window and fell on the floor, almost dropping Soul in the process.

Soul was not paying attention to the many wavelengths around him, the smell of blood made him drool, and the feeling of slicing through flesh was great. He wished his trembling wielder would just murder everyone, he wanted to create massacre !

"T-the g-goal, 999" The stuttering girl muttered as she jumped forward, her abilities enhanced by one of the side effects of the experiments done on Soul. She brought down the scythe, but suddenly, her body went limp, her neck bent in an odd way. As Soul morphed back into his human form, he removed one of his armor-arms from the girls throat.

"Ma…Maka ?"

Maka's POV

It had been 5 years since Soul's …disappearance. She would not allow herself to think that he was dead. He was not dead. He couldn't be. It was impossible. She sighed and walked to their kitchen. She was still in THEIR apartment. Not in her apartment. Soul lived here too.

Maybe she was overreacting, fine, but she just didn't want to believe it. During the 5 years, Shinigami had allowed her to become a teacher at Shibusen, and she was preparing the lessons for the next week. It was painful to see all those weapons and meisters together, it reminded her of Soul so much. She had never allowed herself to get a new partner, and she could teach a class well enough without a weapon at her side.

When she arrived at Shibusen, she felt something was off. Something was approaching. She shrugged it off, but during the first periods it still lingered in her mind. Suddenly, a huge and evil soul wavelength crashed down on the city of Shibusen. "T-the Demon God !!" A freshman screeched and ducked for cover as his classmates began screaming and assembling.

A window broke, and the wavelength increased, causing a few of her students to crawl away in fear. A trembling skinny girl landed on the floor, the weight of her enormous scythe pushing her down. Maka knew she should be scared, but something in the wavelength of the black scythe told her she had no reason to fear the weapon.

The girl stuttered something, and she could hear a weird giggle coming from the black scythe. The girl summoned all her strength, jumped and swung the weapon towards her. For a moment she believed that the blade would actually strike her, but suddenly the weapon clanked to the floor. She looked at the girl, just in time to see her body dissolve in the air, showing her small trembling soul. Her students were screaming, and she could faintly hear the battle-cries of Black Star outside.

"Ma…Maka ?" The sudden voice broke her thoughts, and suddenly she recognized the soul wavelength that crashed over them. It couldn't be… She turned her head in the direction of the voice that called her name. What she saw shocked her. This couldn't be Soul. It wasn't ! But the wavelength he was emitting was unmistakably Soul's. It felt more evil now, and the insanity radiated from him, but there was still some of the old Soul left.

He looked horrible, she could see blood-streaks coming from beneath the strange blindfold, he stood as if there was a boulder on his back, and his arms were completely covered in black crusty blood, making them longer, sharper and uglier. His teeth seemed to have grown, and his grin was ever present, almost as if he couldn't bring himself to stop grinning like a madman. His entire body was covered in black blood, and she could see it dripping out from some hidden wounds on his body.

On a closer look she could see that the blindfold was also made of black blood and pieces of skin. She took a step back as Soul called out her name again, letting out a strange chuckle that sounded as if he was about to have an emotional breakdown. He lifted his arms as if he wanted to hug her, and walked towards her. She noticed he was covered by black blood only, no clothes. Just like Asura, he did not wear any clothes. All that covered him up were the strange strings of black blood and skin.

Her fear for him was fading. She now only saw a pitiful being, barely able of walking without slumped shoulders, bleeding from numerous wounds. But she couldn't pity him. All her cropped up emotions from the past 5 years turned into anger. He had left her, left her all alone, only to show up five years later, to try and KILL her ? She couldn't think straight at all as her rage overtook her.

He didn't fight back as she started to hit him across the face with anything that was within her reach. She threw books at him, glass, chairs, and she screamed. She wasn't even sure what exactly she was screaming, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do at the moment was express her rage as she began hitting him with her fists until she could no longer find the strength to lift her arms.

He was still standing, facing the floor. He hadn't moved during Maka's assault, not even uttering a chuckle as she hit him. "How could you leave me Soul….? How could you ?!..... I…. I hate you !!" She softly cried. Soul's grin had been disappearing slowly throughout the beating, but at those words he seemed to snap. He opened his mouth so wide that it could engulf someone's head, and he let out a screech. Then, he lashed out with his blood-bandage arms, destroying everything in his reach.

Students ducked away, trying to avoid the sharp black arms lashing at them. Soul's act of destruction didn't last long though, as Black Star and Death the Kid made their way to Maka's classroom. They didn't hesitate to attack Soul immediately with all their strength. Soul didn't resist much though. After his outburst of emotion, he wailed and grabbed his head with his oversized black claws as though his head was bursting with pain. Kid and Black Star didn't recognize him and Kid immediately used his Shinigami powers to summon a sealing spell as Black Star kept Soul busy.

Maka made no attempt to stop them as they pushed Soul into a corner before Kid managed to trap him in a seal. Soul pulled slightly at his restraints, making noises that indicated discomfort. Black Star quickly positioned Tsubaki at Soul's neck, but Kid grabbed his arm. "Black Star! Don't ! It is Soul !" Maka stood up and walked off, she looked as if she was in a trance, and she sure as hell felt like it.

_All that time he was still alive. He just didn't care enough for me to even tell me that ! He could've at least betray me in my face !! Why did he just leave like that ? __**He is harmed isn't he ? **_She was still trying to reason with herself, even after all that he did to her. _He chose power over me. The letter that I found explained it all to me._ She hated him for coming back and throwing her mind in doubt again. Why were her old feelings returning?! She should hate him, torture him, kill him, but she found herself so happy for his return that it killed her from the inside out.

She began running as soon as she left the Shibusen building. She didn't stop until she was at her apartment again.

**A/N: So that was chapter 3. I'm already working on chapter 4, but I'm not as far as I hoped I would be. I wish everyone a happy new Year !**

**(Suggestions are welcome but there's no guarantee I'll use them)**


	4. Confrontation

**A/N: Right after the celebration of New Year, I got a serious case of writing disease. I just couldn't stop !! I just really wanted to update today. I was hesitating, because I wanted to see how much reviews I could get without updating, but I needed you guys to see the new chapter ! I want to thank ambrie-chan for reviewing every chapter until now, I'm really happy with everyone's support ! **

**Anonymous reviewer Kim: I hope you are satisfied now, this chapter in Soul's POV proves that he DOES want to return to Maka. Enjoy reading ( if you still read it )**

**ENJOY :D**

Soul´s POV

Maka. She was there, she was truly there. All the small details that had been carved into my memory were present. All of the world seemed to disappear around him. He was back, he had made it back. They'd finally be happy again ! He lifted his abused arms, to pull her into a loving hug, but instead of a warm hug, he felt a fist hit his face. And again, and again and again. It didn't hurt. Not at all. It barely felt like someone brushed a cushion against his cheek. But the fact that Maka was trying to harm him hurt more than any torture he had received in the past 5 years.

He didn't try to stop her from attacking him. He couldn't understand. He loved Maka, and Maka loved him too didn't she ? _Maka... You don't love me ?.... Maka… hates me ? No. That can't be right ! We were supposed to be happy now ! No no no no no …..Maka… _He tried his best to find an explanation, why would Maka hate him like this ? How could he make up to her ? Surely, they could work this out.

The punches to his face suddenly stopped, and Maka sunk to the floor. _Wait… I get it ! She was just worried sick! She still loves me ! _He wanted to comfort her, and he moved to wrap his multiple arms around her, but then she spoke. "How could you leave me Soul….? How could you ?!..... I-…. I h-hate you !!" She hiccupped and put her hand for her mouth in an attempt to hide her sobs.

It felt like someone had just ripped him to small shreds. It felt so bad. He had endured so much pain, all for her sake, and she hated him. There was nothing left! What had he lived for all those years ! He'd been fooling himself. Thinking that she loved him, thinking that she would miss him, care for him. She hated him. He had been nothing but a burden to her. _No. No no no !! Maka ! You are wrong ! _ He tried to explain, tried to call her name, but all that he could produce was a loud screech. His frustration, pain and sadness blurred together in a fit of rage, and he swung his arms around.

The sounds of breaking furniture and horrid screams did not relief him. On the contrary, they enraged him, he wanted absolute silence and rest. He did not resist too much when a binding spell was cast upon him. He finally understood the situation. Maka hated him, he had betrayed Boss, he was in the headquarters of the enemy and he was a demon God. He had no reason to live, and Shibusen had no reason to LET him live.

As he expected he felt a blade positioned at his neck and he waited for death. He felt no emotion whatsoever when the blade disappeared. He assumed they wanted to experiment on him or something. He would be a pretty interesting lesson, Stein would probably love to dissect him. He didn't pay attention to anything. The only thing that came to his mind as they dragged him away in his restraints was that he had stopped grinning for the first time in about 4 years.

He was locked up, and he could hear other spells being muttered and he could feel new restraints around him. It didn't take long before he was unable to move an inch. Not lik he wanted to. All he wanted right now was to fall asleep and never wake up. Never. It was as if he was back in the laboratory when they had experimented on his eyes and his body. After the first shock, time seemed to disappear, leaving you in the darkness for what seems like an eternity, driving you crazy.

It was a déjà vu. Again, he was locked up, without a way out. Kept in the dark, without knowing what would happen or what they wanted from him. Again….without Maka. When the door opened with a horrible sound of metal scratching against metal, his grin had found a way back on his face. He hated himself for smiling. It made him sick. He had been smiling during the feedings at the lab of his "boss", and he'd even laughed during the last experiments.

Soul's thoughts were interrupted by a quiet but strong voice. "Soul Eater Evans." He recognized the voice. How many times had he reported to the man that voice belonged to ? It amazed him how different Shinigami could sound without his usual silly tone. He didn't pay attention to what the Death God was saying. It wasn't going to make a difference anyway.

Apparently Shinigami noticed this, as he abruptly stopped talking and turned around to leave the cell. Or maybe he was just done talking. Soul didn't care at all. He had no future. They would either torture him, kill him or experiment on him. He figured they'd all happen. He just wished the execution part would come soon.

When the door opened again, Soul was back to who he had been for the past 5 years. An insane grinning monster.

Maka's POV

Someone was knocking on the door. Again. Every hour, at least five people would try to talk her out of her room. It had been a week since Soul's imprisonment, and people were worried about her. They had reason to. She had barely eaten that week, and Soul's strong wavelength was driving her insane. The pressure of his wavelength had been slowly increasing over time, pushing the less experienced meisters and weapons into insanity.

Shibusen was almost empty. Shinigami had ordered everyone to stay away from the insane wavelength that Soul emitted. They hadn't sealed him. Maka was surprised, Soul's wavelength seemed to be stronger than the First Kishin's, but Shinigami had not even tried to seal him.

Her friends told her the latest news every day, in the hope she would take interest and leave her apartment. At first, she plainly ignored them, but the name of her ex-weapon piqued her interest. It was unavoidable. But she still didn't leave her room. She waited silently until the name Soul reached her ears. Today was not an exception. Death the Kid had news-duty today.

"…I don't know if you are listening to a word I'm saying, but I wanted you to know this; Soul has been trying to speak. He only speaks when no one is around though." There was a moment of silence, and Maka briefly wondered if Kid had found an asymmetrical object to fuss over. "He's…. been calling out your name." Maka almost dropped her coffee mug in her surprise. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was so confusing.

One moment, she found this letter, telling her that he hated her, and betrayed her. Now he had returned and reached out for her, as if wanting to hold her, love her. And now he was calling out her name ? Kid just continued talking as Maka tried to stop her tears from flowing. "- Father tried to talk to him. But he was unreasonable, almost as if he couldn't hear him at all." Maka wiped away her tears. Kid stayed silent.

After 5 minutes, Maka felt slightly uncomfortable. Why wasn't Kid speaking ? Normally he'd just rant about symmetry, trying to make her react, or spout unwanted information that he thought would interest her. The air was becoming thick and Maka had an unnerving feeling that was crawling around in her gut.

"My father wants you to talk to him." So that was it. It didn't shock her as much as she thought it would. It was pretty obvious wasn't it ? Soul refusing to speak to anyone, calling out her name when no one was there to hear it (or so he thought)… Was she able to face him ? _I need answers…Right? This is my only chance to face him, to ask him why! _She stood up silently and yanked the door open, throwing Kid into the corridor. "ACKK !! Maka what the hell ?!" But Maka was already on her bike.

She had bought it in the first few weeks of Souls disappearance. She had taken a hammer and smashed it with all her might, only to eat instant noodles for months to pay for the repairs. _So ironic. I bought a bike because it reminded me of him, and I destroyed it, only to repair it later on. I guess that explains how much I need that explanation !_

She threw the bike aside and ran to the dungeons underneath the school. She needed to scream at him, she needed to spill all the feelings that had clotted up her heart. Punching him like that previously hadn't been enough for her to vent her anger, torment and sadness. She was aimless. She knew Soul was in the dungeons, but where in the dungeons ? She kept running around, hoping for some sort of indication that Soul might be held prisoner in one of the cages.

Suddenly Soul's wavelength was crushing down on her. The insanity it radiated was all too familiar. She was strongly reminded of her first time meeting Asura the demon God. An unnerving feeling crept up on her, and the wavelength was only increasing. Maka felt as if she couldn't breathe anymore, and she collapsed as the insanity was taking over her mind. She curled up and pulled her knees up to her chest, clutching her head with her hands, screaming screaming screaming. She wanted it to stop ! It was tearing her apart !

It felt as if an iron weight was pushing her down, slowly crushing her bones, making her scream and squirm in pain. She forgot everything around her as images began to form in her head, images of places she had never seen, pain she had never felt, and feelings she had never experienced. A loud laughter rang in her ears, making her want to tear out her brain, her eyes, anything. As long as it would stop.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and dragged her away, as if running away from death. Maka almost didn't notice she was being dragged away through the haze of a thousand images until her head hit a stone and her world became black.

Kid's POV.

_Damn it ! Why didn't I pay more attention ?! I should've been able to stop her ! She's making a huge mistake !_ Kid got up quickly and tried to follow Maka, but before he had managed to summon his skateboard, Maka was already speeding towards Shibusen. "Maka !!! WAIT !!" She didn't hear him.

He didn't have the time to get Liz and Patty from his home, Maka was in grave danger. She didn't know what had become of Soul. After being imprisoned and questioned, his insanity had been increasing rapidly. But it became truly dangerous when the first Seal broke. It had turned out that his insanity had been sealed away from the start. The seal had broken just two days ago, and Soul was letting out enormous blasts of insanity every hour. It was no longer safe for anyone to be around, except Shinigami and people who had an insane amount of spirit energy, like Black star and Stein.

When he finally landed next to Maka's abused bike, she had already entered the dungeon. It'd be hard to find her now. Normally he'd be able to track her, but he could feel that Soul's wavelength was about to burst again. At the moment it was too quiet, Soul's wavelength would almost disappear before increasing in strength and amount at an enormous rate.

Even though the air around shibusen held no sign of insanity whatsoever, he could feel that it was only the calm before the storm. In mere moments, insanity would make the floors tremble and the windows break, and probably kill Maka.

He hurried down another corridor. There was no end to it. The silence seemed to be infecting his mind, and he knew that the first doses of insanity were starting to spread out. He only had mere moments before it exploded. He picked up his pace, even using his skateboard to gain more speed.

Then, Soul released his insanity. Kid gasped for breath, and almost fell from his skateboard. Even he had trouble resisting the crushing insanity that rained down on him. He stumbled to his feet and gained support by leaning against the wall. Suddenly a horrid scream pierced his ears. For a moment he thought Soul's insanity had managed to break through his shield, until he realized it was Maka's voice.

He ran as quickly as he could, but Maka's scream was changing slowly into a crazed laugh. _SHIT ! Am I too late ?! _When he spotted Maka, he felt a moment of despair. The insanity had already found its way into her mind. Her face was slowly stretching in the same grin that Soul had worn his entire imprisonment. He had to do something fast !! He could feel the effects of the insane wavelength and without wasting another moment he grabbed her arm and yanked her away. She kept laughing, sometimes screaming something incoherently in between the laughs.

Suddenly, he heard some sort of 'crack' and Maka's screaming stopped at once. He spun around immediately, trying to ignore the pressure of Soul's insanity. Maka was bleeding from a wound in her head. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth was stretched into a grin, but he could see she was far from conscious. He'd been too focused on getting out of here, and now she was hurt. Shit. He had to get her out immediately. Luckily insanity worked less on unconscious people, so Maka's sanity was now slightly protected.

He picked her up and carried her away, careful not to bring her further harm. Soul's burst of insanity had already passed, and now only his wavelength washed over them.

Outside the dungeon he collapsed, someone took Maka from his arms as he lost consciousness.

**A/N: I love Kid. Why don't I use him more in this story ? Oh well. I was wondering. Should I change "Shinigami" to Shinigami-sama ? I'm not sure wich one to use... **

**I don't know what else to say, but I'll use this space to beg you to review. It really warms my heart to see that people like my stories.**

~Lanny


	5. Waking up

**A/N: Well, I was checking ASOB, and I saw I hadn't updated in 6 days or so ! I decided something needed to change RIGHT AWAY ! So I'm uploading this chapter, I think it's slightly longer than the previous chapters, but it'll have to be this long. School is starting again, and I can't guarantee frequent updates. I have a lot to do, and I don't spend all my time behind the computer by writing fanfictions. I hope you all like this chapter !**

**Also: I have used up all my back up ( I mean to say that from now on, I don't have the story up to chapter 7 or so, like I had before.) I hope you guys like my storeh :3 and please review, remember; they stimulate me to keep on writing !!**

Maka's POV

When the light returned to her world, the insanity was gone. The sour aftertaste was still fresh though, and her head felt like it had been split in two, and not only in the physical way. "Oh look ! She's awake !" Liz' voice felt like a knife jabbing in her ears. "Ah- Oucch !" She tried to get up, but a pair of hands pushed her back again. " Maka ! My dearest bestest daughter, don't sit up !! You'll get an ouchy ouchy !" _Oh great. Dad._ _Where is a dictionary when you need it !? _Maka blinked again, and the spinning colors began to take shape.

She was in a hospital bed, and from what she could see from her bed, it was far away from Shibusen. "W-wha-t….h-happened ?" Oh great, now she was stuttering ! She also noticed her cheeks were hurting, as if she'd over exercised them. "Shh shh Maka-chan" her father wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Don't worry. Don't worry. It'll be fine, it'll be fine." Why was he repeating all his words ? And why was his hug so… restraining?

"D-dad." Spirit let her go for a moment, to look her in the eye. "M-maka?" He sounded astonished, surprised, flabbergasted. "W-what is t-that look for ?!" She looked around, and saw everyone staring at her as if she had just grown a second head. Kid suddenly spoke up. "Maka. Is that you?" Maka felt angered, and she had to stop herself from hitting him on his head. "Well of course it's me you baka!!" Suddenly, Spirit let out a wail and tightened his hug again. "You're back ! You're back ! Oh God Maka ! You're finally back !!"

Trying to ignore the crying figure sqeeuzing her to death she turned to Kid.

"What the HELL happened ?!"

Kid looked very tired, and not at all symmetrical. And Maka noticed his wavelength was out of synch. She also noticed a strange smile on his face. It almost looked as if he was in pain. And the look in his eyes was….. disturbed. She noticed that there were some guards in the room, looking at her warily, pointing their weapons at her and Kid. She noticed Kid was in hospital clothes, and that the other bed in the room had obviously been occupied by him just a few minutes ago.

"Kid ?" Suddenly, Stein appeared in her vision and flashed a small light right into her eye. "WAAH !!" She quickly closed her eyes, but Stein continued to study her. After being flash-lighted, pulse-checked, Wavelength-checked and a dozen of other things, Stein pulled back and pulled out a cigarette. "Amazing… I'd love to dissect you. You healed faster from insanity than Kid-kun, and he is a shinigami. I'm very impressed."

Spirit had been forced away from Maka and now looked at Stein with a worried and hopeful expression. "She…she's okay right ? Please tell me she's back to normal !" Stein smiled a bit. "Yea, she's just fine spirit. The insanity seems to have vanished now. She can be released. But Kid, you need to stay here." At the sound of his name Kid blurted out a loud laugh. "Hahhhaaahaa !!!!" Stein sighed, and Liz and Patty pushed Kid back in his bed. "Kid, calm down. Try to ignore the insanity." Kid's laughter was quieting and he coughed. "S-shit… Sorry…Hehe…."

"Okay, I need an explanation right now !" Maka slammed her fist down on her matrass as hard as she could, trying to emphasis her words. Spirit only pulled her into another hug, this one a lot less constricting than the last one. "Your mind was infected by Soul's madness. You've been laughing, screaming, thrashing and wailing for three days. We…I thought you might never return to your old self… Soul's wavelength has been emitting a strange kind of insanity. People who get too close begin seeing images and begin to behave strangely."

Maka suddenly felt a loud pounding in her head, and the images from before flooded through her mind. "Aaaghh !!" She curled up as she tried to process all the new and strange information that was bestowed on her. Images, no, memories were fresh in her mind. A cell, a table, leather straps around her wrists, an infuriating laughter that chilled her to the bone, and it was gone. She took in a sharp breath and rubbed her temples, trying to get rid of the headache that had now worsened.

"Maka ! Are you okay ?!" Again, the loud voice of her father was only making her headache worse. "Dad I'm fine ! Stop screaming ! My head's splitting open !!"

Spirit released her quickly and covered her with a blanket. "I'm sorry Maka, you better go to sleep now." Spirit's whispering was reminding her of her current state. She felt very and tired. She closed her eyes, and the last thing she noted was Spirit brushing away some of her hair.

"Good night Maka."

Soul's POV

_So hungry… So Hungry. Why aren't they feeding me ? Why aren't there any missions anymore ? Why am I alone ? I am alone… Maka…. Maka where are you ?! I found you I found you… but where are you now ?_ Soul had no sense of time, he could only measure the passing of time by his outbursts of insanity. It had been some time since the last burst. When would the next attack be ? He hated the outbursts, they left him in a state of utter despair, torment, longing and memories. He could feel it coming. He tried to calm down.

_Think of nothing. Think of nothing… Nothing… I'm hungry… But I must think of nothing. _He hid his wavelength as best as he could trying to hold back his coming outburst. Suddenly he could feel a wavelength. It reminded him of Maka. They were back ? He felt relieved and some of his insanity slipped out. Finally things were going to be normal again. He would be fed, he would get new meisters, he'd be experimented on.

He knew it should frighten him, but he longed for something he knew. Even if that meant torture and pain. The replacement was coming closer. It wasn't carrying any souls ? But he was hungry… Maybe this replacement was his new meister ? Suddenly he realized it. This wasn't a replacement. It was Maka. Maka !! MAKA !!

He released everything he had in him. He needed her ! He pulled at his restraints, trying to get to her, to hold her, to explain her. It proved useless as the restraints only tightened around him. _No NO ! Maka, MAKA !!_ He screamed, and he knew he was probably laughing too. His wavelength wrapped itself around Maka, he wanted her to understand ! He poured all his memories, his thoughts, his feelings and his experiences into his wavelength, giving it his all to deliver his message to Maka.

Her mind had shields, she wouldn't let him in. _Maka, you have to ! Y-you HAVe to let me in !! _He broke through her shields, and entered her mind. It was something they had managed to install into him during some other experiment. He remembered the pain it had brought and the surprise when he had killed and entire village by just forcing their minds into his insanity. _Maka, Maka, Maka, Maka… _He couldn't stop thinking, screaming, calling her name. He was so happy to be reunited with Maka, even if it was mentally and not physically. _Do you understand Maka ? Maka ! You understand right ? Maka… Maka…_

But the answer he got hurt him. She was screaming, she was afraid, confused, in pain… And he was causing it… At this notion Soul released her mind, trying to pull back all the insanity he had let loose upon her. In the last moments of the connection he felt she was slipping into unconsciousness and carried away by someone. Someone similar. _Death the Star…? No… that's not right… I'm so hungry! Maka… Don't leave me… please feed me … feed me. Why are you with him ? You need to understand Maka…_ He aimed all his insanity at the figure carrying Maka away from him.

It was selfish. He knew that. He just wanted her to be close. Maka was the only one who would be able to cure him from his insanity, for she had partly been the cause of it. The mind of the person carrying Maka was tough, but he cracked the carefully built shield, and as soon as he was inside, he let all his insanity loose. Not to explain, but to destroy. _LEAVE HER ALONE ! MAKA IS MINE !!! _As the wavelength became weaker, a few others appeared, and suddenly they disappeared. His insanity hit a barrier.

_I lost._

He slipped back into insanity.

Maka's POV

"Are you sure ?" Maka let out a sigh and suppressed the urge to Maka-chop her dad. "Yes, dad. For the millionth time. I. Am. Sure." It had been a day since she had been released from the HIIM (Hospital for Insanity Infected Meisters), and her father was still obsessing about her leave. "Are you sure you shouldn't stay just a tiny bit longer Maka ?" Maka sighed. "Dad, I'm not 12 anymore. I can handle things like this. I need to see Shinigami."

Spirit followed her to Shinigami's room. "Maka Albarn is present. I heard you wanted to speak with me Shinigami-sama ?" Shinigami had lost his childish attitude in the last week. He was already old, and he was obviously having trouble with Soul's wavelength and the infection of his students. Closing shibusen had also meant that he could no longer send people on mission to collect Kishin souls.

"Ah! Maka." He turned around, and maka could see that he was also weakened by Soul's immense wavelength. "When you ran into the dungeons were Soul was kept, I witnessed something… Amazing." Shinigami turned towards his mirror again and summoned some imagesof three days earlier. "At first I thought your wavelength might calm him down, but when you approached him the other day, it turned out to be very different. Observe."

Shinigami put his large hand on the mirror and Maka saw a display of all the wavelengths from three days ago. She saw that Soul's wavelength had been slightly trying to compose itself. And when she had approached, he had let some of his insanity slip. Until now, everything looked normal, but then something strange occurred. Soul's wavelength took on a form, and Maka saw how it curled around her wavelength, slowly crushing it. "Shinigami-sama, what is that ?!" She watched in awe as Soul's wavelength broke through her shield and invaded her soul. The images paused and Shinigami turned around again.

"Soul is not some ordinary Kishin soul. From what I saw when I questioned him, he has been experimented on in very cruel ways. I assume this is one of his abilities." Maka bowed her head a bit. "But it still means that Soul wanted to harm me." Shinigami spun around, and for a moment he regained his childish attitude. "Nooo~!! On the contrary Maka-chan !! What his wavelength emitted was not hate or bloodlust, just extraordinary happiness, sadness and longing. He misses youuuu~!!" Maka stared at shinigami. _Is he joking with me ? Soul broke into my mind, my soul ! He nearly destroyed me ! Not only mentally, but also emotionally ! And now Shinigami says that he MISSES me ?!_ "NO!!" Maka grabbed the first thing in her reach and threw it to the ground with all her force. "DON'T !! DON'T !! Don't give me hope !!" _Soul misses me, maybe he still loves me ? He has to…right ? Please, Soul... love me…_

She broke down again and she could feel tears starting to stream over her cheeks. "Soul, he does not love me, he never did, and yet, you are cruel enough to tell me that he MISSES me ?!" She fell to her knees and cried softly. Shinigami was silent for a moment. "Maka-chan…. I want you to talk to him." Maka didn't reply. She had assumed that Shinigami wanted her to do something. "What makes you think that he'll listen to me?" She sniffled as she tried to compose herself. "I'm just his idiot ex-meister, stupid enough to fall in love with a traitor…" Shinigami sighed and patted her head. "Maka, you have not felt what I have felt in Soul's wavelength. I will talk to him first, and then I will send you in."

Maka stared at the ground. She knew it was more of an order than a request. Shinigami had always given orders through 'requests'. She nodded, and Shinigami left the room. "You will wait here until I am done talking. I will come and get you as soon as I'm done." Shinigami stepped through the mirror and Maka was alone in the big room.

Soul's POV

It was always dark. Probably the blindfold. But he knew when there was supposed to be light and when there wasn't. When the door opened he was sure that light was filling the room, and he wanted to take off his blindfold to see the light, even though it would burn his eyes… He knew it was Shinigami, but the wavelength of the headmaster had changed dramatically. Soul suppressed his insanity. He was bored to the edge of despair. He didn't need much sleep, food or water, so he was left alone in the dark for what felt like ages.

Anything could entertain him now. Shinigami stood right in front of him, and Soul knew he shouldn't do anything stupid now. The hunger for human souls was still present, but he could think clearer without eating them. That didn't mean he didn't want to though. Shinigami's soul was very powerful, even in it's weakened state, and Soul felt some drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. _I wish I could wipe It off, it's not like I need saliva to digest souls._ It was quiet for quite a while, and Soul suspected that Shinigami wanted to test the remains of his sanity.

"Soul." Soul waited, but Shinigami didn't continue. Soul began to get annoyed. He was doing his best to stay calm wasn't he ? He was hungry, and this guy was taunting him by being around. He no longer kept his insanity locked up and he was satisfied when he felt Shinigami's wavelength pull up a barrier. The Death God summoned a chair from outside and sat down.

His curiosity got the best of him, and he tried to speak, frustrated by the pathetic words that he uttered. "W-wh-why a-r…..are….yoo-uu gggg-here ?" Shinigami didn't show any emotion. Not like Soul would be able to see it anyway, his blindfold was still in its place. "I want to know what happened." Soul laughed. He almost didn't notice he laughed though. Laughing was like breathing to him, he just couldn't stop. Why would Shinigami want to know ? He had figured out that the Death God had no friendly intentions whatsoever. The childish attitude had only been good for luring innocent children into his school.

He was merciless, like a Death God should be, but that didn't mean that Soul liked it. Shinigami wanted to know who made Soul into this before he was sent to his execution and dissected in Stein's lab. Soul didn't mind dying, it was not as if he cared about his rotten life now. He vaguely remembered having fun, and a feeling he could not describe when he thought of Maka. Maka… He couldn't remember her face anymore. She had pigtails, blonde….or was it brown ? And her eyes… He remembered adoring the determination that shimmered in her eyes, but when he tried to remember the colour in her eyes, his headache hit him again.

"What happened." It wasn't a question, and it bothered Soul a lot. He felt like lunging at Shinigami and ripping out his throat. He wouldn't be able to tell Shinigami. His speech was too slow and his train of thoughts took him from one place to another in mere minutes. _My thoughts went from my execution to my death to fun to Maka to pigtails to eyes to headache. I would never be able to keep up with myself in this state._

"Y- yo-you-oou… sshhh-mu-shhhh-t…..musstt... o-pen..open up... you-uu're mi-mind iff yo-you wi….wisshhhhh to ff-ffind o-out." He was struggling to speak without spitting up blood, drooling or laughing. And it was frikkin' hard. Shinigami got up surprisingly fast and hit him hard, and if he hadn't been restrained he would've crashed into the ground beneath him. He guessed he should've expected it. He hadn't received anything else than torture in the last 5 years. He had known that this was not what Shinigami had wanted to hear. So he paid the price.

Shinigami was silent again and sat down again. "I will send in Maka. I know you still care about her, and I noticed what you tried to do when she came down here." Soul stiffened for a moment. _Maka ? Maka ? She was… visiting again ? She was okay… _He tried to speak again, failing horribly as he only let out a loud laugh. "It'll be your only chance at getting her back. You know that." Soul kept silent as he thought about it. _Either I refuse, and will be sent to my torture, experiment or my death. Or I accept and have a chance at Maka's love and a possibility of a quick death._

Soul nodded, and Shinigami left without saying another word.

**A/N: It's official now, I made Shinigami into a total bastard. He's now so uber evil it's almost unbelievable. I also noted I left out Boss too long, so the next chapter will have a new POV. Tell me what you think about this story, what you liked, and what you disliked. I would also like critism about my use of words and sentences, I kind of feel like I'm rushing my story, or not explaining enough. Enlighten me people !!**

**~Lanny**


	6. Time to Explain ?

**Well, I had promised two people that I'd update today. Or else I'd wait a bit longer. I mean, I felt unsatisfied with the number of reviews I recieved. I feel as if I'm losing my "touch" when it comes to this story. I feel like I'm not living up to my potential. I will probably finish it, but I might just rush it a bit. A dozen of other fanfic idea's are spinning around in my head !**

**But for now, please enjoy my story 'key ? **

Maka's POV

When Shinigami returned, I had composed myself and waited patiently next to the mirror. "Maka, Soul had accepted to talk to you." Maka jumped at the sudden sound and swirled around. "A-ah ! Okay, I'll go there right now and-" Shinigami interrupted her while he stepped out of the mirror. "No, I wish to discuss some things with you before you go to him. You should understand I have no intention of letting him go. You are to decide if his death is painless or not." Maka's heart made a small jump when Shinigami mentioned the word Death.

"I-I'm not sure if I understand.." Shinigami sighed, and he was clearly annoyed. "I want him to be calm when he is led to his execution, and I am sure your wavelength will be able to calm him. If not, I will be forced to seal him in a horrible and painful way before being able to end his life, not forgetting about all the important experiments I will let Stein do. It is your choice." Shinigami turned around without waiting for an aswer.

When Maka left he said one more thing: "When you come I back, I either want a tame Soul by your side, or an explanation. If you have neither, I will treat him like Kishin should be treated. Cruelly." Maka shuddered. Shinigami had always seemed nice enough, but the older she got, the more she knew. He was merciless and didn't seem to care about anything at all. She was starting to wonder if she was on the good side or not.

As she carefully approached Soul's prison she could feel his wavelength lessening. He was suppressing his insanity so he could talk to her ? What could he possibly have to say? Maybe it'd be something among the lines of "You are such an idiot that you believed I loved you, I thought you could give me some power, but you couldn't even turn me into a death scythe !" She let out a sigh. This hadn't been a good idea, she was sure of it. She would regret this later as she was crying her eyes out once again over a guy she swore never to love.

When she arrived at the door, Soul's wavelength had almost disappeared. She would've thought he died if the insanity wasn't swirling around her, trying to get into her head. When she opened the door she could hear a faint giggling that sent shivers up her spine, but not the good way. "S-soul?" Even when suppressed, she could feel that Soul's wavelength alone would be able to rend her useless.

As soon as she had said his name, he broke into hysterical laughter and threw back his head. She could hear the chains around him making distressed sounds. "Eh…I..Uhm…" She felt uncomfortable and she took a few steps back, attempting to leave. _He's nuts ! Freaking CRAZY !! What the HELL did they DO to him ?!! _ She was about to run for it as Soul's laughter cam to an end and was replaced by a broken and raspy voice that let out a long wail. "Do-don't le-leave." He coughed and something warm splattered against her legs. It was blood. Black blood. He continued to cough and big amounts of black blood splattered on the ground.

"S-soul…" She didn't know what to say, he seemed desperate, helpless and in pain. But should she help him ? For all she knew he was just taking advantage of her. He had become a monster. Taking the souls of innocent humans and killing everyone who stood in his way… She only came here for answers ! Not for pity on a guy that turned his back on all that was ever important in the world. She straightened her back and took a deep breath. That's right. No pity. He didn't have pity on her either, so why should she pity him ?! She took a few steps towards Soul, who was still coughing up some blood and muttering incoherent things and slapped him hard across his face. "That's what you get for leaving!"

Soul had stopped coughing, she saw there was still blood dripping from his mouth, but at least he didn't cough any longer. _Why am I still concerned about his wellbeing ?! He crushed me, and right now I'm helping him with it. How can I still feel this for him after what he's done ? Even if he never meant to leave, that doesn't take away the fact that he ate hundreds of human souls and killed many people. He is not worthy of being called a human being._

"I want to know. Right now. Soul, you're gonna tell me RIGHT NOW !! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS HUH ?!" She didn't give him a chance to answer. After hitting him, she needed to scream at him. She knew from experience that words could hurt a lot more than fists. "You LEFT me! Just like that ! I wake up, horrible wounds covering my body, and you are gone !!" Soul was closing and opening his mouth as if he was a fish out of the water, trying to catch his breath. But Maka kept going, she wouldn't stop. She had kept these thoughts and feelings inside for five years, and even after attacking him like she had in the classroom, it still hadn't been enough.

_It's never going to be enough! Never !! The wound is open, no longer bleeding, but infected and aching. Soul, your explanation will be able to stitch it up and clean the infection, but it might also shred the wound open, infecting it to the point of death. In either way, there will always be a scar. _"And then, I find a letter. A LETTER!! As if you're just out, shopping for groceries ! You broke me Soul you broke me !!" Maka kept screaming, and in her rage she didn't notice Soul's control breaking slowly. Her own rage was blinding her as Soul was losing the control over his insanity.

"I mean you could've ju-" Again, the crushing feeling washed over her, but this time, she had no time to scream, laugh or thrash around as Soul broke into her mind.

She was floating in darkness, surrounded by laughs and grins with pointed teeth. She felt like ripping her brain right out of her head. Screaming, laughing, crying and images burred together in one big mess. She felt as if she was going down a drain, spinning around, uncontrollable, until she would disappear forever through the dirty pipes. Suddenly all the noise stopped, and she was in what appeared to be a landscape.

It was very silent, but Maka could hear soft tones drifting in the air. She followed the sound of what appeared to be music. The world in which she was walking was still the same, grins surrounding her, the world not making sense in any way, coloured red and black. Everything was twisted, as if someone had put it in the mixer. And now it was frozen. This proved to be true when she passed a floating window. From the window, countless broken chairs fell, and she saw countless portraits, ripped apart or changed in such an awful way that it could not be recognized as a portrait. The only movement she could detect was the rain. It was more like drizzle. She only felt it, and she saw it as soon as it hit her skin, as if it was raining only on her. Black. It was raining black.

The scenery changed somewhat. Even though she couldn't see walls, she knew there was a ceiling, and when she looked around, she felt as if she was in an old ballroom. She could hear music. It was sad music, and it resonated through the entire place. She could see that the room had once been beautiful and stylish. But now everything looked as if it had been shredded apart or burned to a crisp. Everywhere was dust, and she could see corpses lying around. No no… She was walking on corpses. It was true, when she looked down, an eyeless face stared up at her, the face stretched into an humourless grin.

The sight troubled her, and she quickened her pace. At first the dark colours had comforted her, but now she felt as if she was in a nightmare. The music was replaced by wails, screams and laughter. The arms stretched out their arms and clasped their blood covered fingers around her leg. The music was still there, and Maka knew that if she could reach the source, she would be safe. But the slow music faded away, like in those nightmares, where you run and run, but your goal only gets further away. She tried to push herself onwards, but soon he hands reached her hair and she was pulled down violently into isanity.

Soul's POV

_She is not willing to open up her soul… I will never be able to love her again… never be able to be with her again…_Maka's voice was like a dream. So many times he had heard that sweet voice, calling out for him. But now he could understand the meaning of those words, and they stung. He had NEVER hated her ! He had NEVER planned to do this !! But as he was listening to her rant, he could feel anger starting to come up. He hadn't felt angry in years, but now it burned inside of him, threatening to tear him down from the inside. How DARE she believe a piece of paper over him ?! Did she even KNOW what he went through ?!

But along with anger came despair and longing. He couldn't keep his emotions in control, and again he let out all his insanity. Maka was unprepared, and Soul took his chance. His insanity wormed it's way into her mind, and connected their worlds. He found himself in his world. His spirit world. It was messed up, twisted, and he knew Maka would have to find her own way to the core of his soul. He played the piano, and he knew Maka would hear it. His emotions were now gone.

Anger ? Why should he be angry ? He loved her, she loved him. All would be fine when he had explained himself. Despair ? Why should he feel despair ? Maka was here now, and he would be able to explain, and all would be good. Longing ? Why should he long her now, when she was as close to him as possible ? In his soul ? Maka was coming, and he could only hope she was strong enough to get here.

As he played, his calm state of mind slowly disappeared, why was it taking so long ? Had she been consumed ? Had he killed her ? What if she was so disgusted by him she would rather plunge herself into insanity than staying here ? His music stopped for a small moment, and he could hear the always present screaming of the souls he had consumend screaming out loud. He kept on playing, for that would get them quiet, but it didn't work. He felt restless and his music was unrecognizable as he slammed down on the keys.

Maka. Maka was being consumed by his madness, her uneasiness had triggered his restlessness which had triggered his insanity. He was killing her.

He jerked his hands away from the keys, wanting to come to her rescue, but suddenly something broke into his mind. He recognized it immediately. Shinigami.

Something clasped around his throat and he felt Shinigami's wavelength cutting into his own wavelength. He didn't object. Shinigami was saving Maka, and if that meant death, Soul would take it. He felt seals wrapping around him, and he knew Spirit and Stein were probably also performing some sort of sealing method on his body.

When Maka was freed, Soul was back into his body again. He fell still as the last seals wrapped itself around him. Remains of other seals were around him, apparently he had broken them. He also noted he had moved about 3 meters from his previous spot. He had been completely free. He shivered at noting this. Whenever he was in that state, he did anything his mind could come up with. He'd probably tried to protect Maka, seeing as she was covered in black blood, and black blood-bandages, made from his skin.

Maka's eyes flew open all of a sudden, and her face was twisted in pain. She trashed around, but this time, it was clear that this was far more harmful than Soul's insanity. Maka started to cough up blood in between the screams, and occasionally a loud crack was heard. Spirit was going crazy and he shook Maka's shoulder in an attempt to snap her out of it. "Maka !! Maka !! Daddy's here ! Don't worry, Daddy's here !! Please wake up wake up !!!" But Maka didn't wake up, she only screamed louder.

Soul felt himself breaking in two at the sight of Maka writhing in pain on the ground. And again it was his fault, he had not obeyed Boss, she would die, or at least writhe I pain until she could no longer take it. Maka's screams tore him apart and he cried out. He vaguely registered Spirit passing out and Shinigami shooting a startled look in his direction, but Soul couldn't care less. He knew no way of stopping Maka's pain. No way but to destroy anything that Boss had.

The last few seals broke, including the ones that had been placed on Soul by Boss. Shinigami's seals did not absorb his energy like Boss' adapted seals, he had been growing stronger every second. Not only physically, but also mentally. He could think clearly again, even though his thoughts at the moment were clouded with hatred pain and anger. He sensed Shinigami preparing for an attack, but this could not wait. It was his only chance at saving Maka. He opened his eyes and he ignored the pain that shot through his head as he directed his destructive gaze at Shinigami.

As he expected, Shinigami did not crumple under the pressure of his attack, he merely shielded himself, attempting to reduce the damage. Shinigami didn't succeed, and once Soul was sure Shinigami could no longer follow him, he left.

He didn't care about how he moved, if he only moved fast. The black blood was very useful for creating wings, and he flew as fast as he can. When he reached a good distance, he turned around for a moment to try and find Maka.

How foolish. He had his blindfold on again.

Boss' POV

Boss coughed and pushed the last pile of rubbish from her torso. She had been out to collect another valuable experiment subject. It had been very far away, and very urgent. It was very rare to find a young dragon witch. She would make a perfect subject. Of course, she had joined the expedition. When you want something done right, you should do it yourself, so she always collected the most important ones herself.

But this one had been a bit…unstable. It turned out to be someone else's experiment. So it had been a waste of time. She was positive that one of her enemies had lured her into that building, to make sure she'd never get out. That would have been the case, has she not used one of her latest test substances. This one enabled you to remain alive for weeks without eating, breathing, drinking or anything else. Pretty useful, but it didn't feel nice at all.

She'd been stuck underneath the building for about a week and three days. Maybe four. She was annoyed, and she had not been able to check up on her countless subjects. Subject 765 would've escaped by now, and subject 56 had been depending on the Soul harvest of this little trip. She hoped the idiots at the lab had kept his body so she could study it.

Several of her subjects had been out on missions, including subject 999. Subject 999 was by far the strongest and most easy to manipulate. He was the result of years of studying and testing. Thousand failures, one success. She felt a small smile tug at her lips. The key to controlling madness was love. She should've watched more cartoons. Every cartoon., movie or series kept blabbering on about love love love. It was all rubbish, but it was a formidable way of controlling someone. Boss didn't love. She never had. If she ever did she had forgotten it.

She was dizzy, and the way to her lab was long. The subject had waited for her all the time, not trying to help her at all. She should work out that little bug as soon as she got home. Something that only obeyed orders seemed really awesome, but when you were stuck under tons of rubbish, depending on drugs, it's be nice if the subject would actually help her. When she arrived, she took another drug. She felt her senses sharpen, and her thoughts sped up to the speed of sound (or so it seemed).

She took a cigarette and sat down in her chair. "Ahhh….. Subject bUt73r, bring me some tea, and all the reports regarding the last 11 days." The subject hunched over, and she was sure it was an attempt at a bow. bUt73r was one of her best experiments, but he tended to annoy her a bit with his formalities. He returned with a small cup of tea balancing on a huge stack of paper. bUt73r never failed to amuse her with his, or its, acrobatic stunts.

She grabbed the stack and scanned for the more important subjects. As she suspected 765 had escaped, and killed 78 in the process. 56 had died and some others had caught a strange disease which was currently observed in the lab. Suddenly a blank map caught her eye. bUt73r hurried out of the room. A blank map. That meant trouble. That meant it was something so infuriating the researchers did not dare to put their name on it in fear to be killed. She practically ripped the map open and crumpled the paper in her clenching hands.

The cigarette was bit in twice and thrown on the ground. "Subject 999, Soul Eater Evans. I fuckin' warned you you bitch ! Now you're gonna pay the price !!!" She grabbed her teacup and threw it against the wall. " BUT73R !!!!" The terrified subject rushed into the room and hunched over a few times, his head almost touching the ground. "Clean up this Fuckin' mess and get me a new cup of tea ! Make sure the one who wrote that report is made into a new subject !! 56 is vacant !!"

She stomped out of her office, kicking some people around and screaming at them as she made her way to Soul's cage. Sure enough, it had been empty for at least a week. She growled and slammed the door behind her. She turned around and want to the remote control room. Subject 999 had been to valuable to infect with a tracking and punishing substance, but his ex-meister was infected, and Boss would make sure Soul would regret his betrayal.

Part of her did not approve of the idea, her rational mind told her that it would only lead to misery, and probably death. But as always, she ignored it. When had she even been rational ? And when had it ever turned out to kill her ? Never. She shoved some instruments and limbs off some table in her search for the remote on "trace-and-punish" substance AZ-77. When she found it, a grin spread across her face. "Hey Soul, guess what ? I'm gonna make your whole world collapse! And there nothing you can do about it !!!" She pushed the button. Once, twice. "TAKE THAT!!" She rammed the button on the remote down again and then threw the remote on the ground.

She panted slightly but her breathing was calming down. She straightened her back and brought her hand to her hair to fix it into place. "Ah, I really needed that. Hey, bUt73r ! Prepare me some food. My favourite." Her outraged expression was now replaced by the wicked smile she always wore. The researchers now dared to emerge from their hiding places and they shot a shaky smile in her direction. "W-work's g-g-going f-fine miss!!" One uttered shyly before hurrying to the other side of the lab.

She let out a satisfied hum and sat down in her chair. It didn't take long fore her mind ot catch up to what she had done. _Pah ! That stupid Soul ! He went through so much pain and sadness, all for that girl, and then he betrays me ! Forcing me to kill…the only way to control him… FUCK !! _She jumped up and pushed chair over. "FUCK!!!!"

There was no time. Even if she used all the experiments, it was inevitable that Soul would destroy her lab. She cursed herself. "YOU !! She grabbed a random researcher and shook him violently. "You gave me that substance, what side effects had it ?!!" The researcher started trembling, he probably thought these were his last moments alive. He started stuttering, trying to lengthen his life if only by a few minutes. "N-n-nausea, I-insomnia, when the m-medicine i-is taken, y-you are m-more easily p-p-provo-provoked, a-and test-subj-subjects sh-showed i-impulsive behaviour, a-also sli-slight sui-suici-cidal be-behav-haviour B-b-b-bo"

She threw him aside before he could finish. She had always been impulsive, but the substances had worsened it. What good would it be to leave now ? Soul could be here very soon, and even if she survived this, she'd have to start over. She didn't have the time.

She tried to think up a plan, some way to undo what she had done, but the remote was broken and the effects of the drug irreversible. All she could do now was prepare for death or take her own life. She silently made her way to her private room and took out a gun. Why live when you're goal in life had been destroyed ? She heard an alarm going off, and the anti-insanity barrier around her lab and the cells broke. _Better a quick death by my own hand than Soul's wrath._ The insanity washed over her and she put the gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger.

**A/N: I am NOT satisfied with Boss' POV. I am not satisfied with her name either. Ah well, she's out of the picture now. I might have exaggerated her emotions a bit. A bit too much. A LOT too much ! **

**Please allow me to beg for reviews again. My story feels unloved when it doesn't get a lot of reviews.... :(**

**~Lanny**


	7. The Happy Ending ?

**Well, here it is. The "happy" ending of my first complete fanfiction. I have to say I disliked Chapter 6 as much as I disliked dogpoo in my bowl of cereal. Chapter 7 is a whole other story however. I feel very proud about finishing a fanfiction ! I am also really proud I can now label this story as COMPLETE.**

**BUT ! I might add a not-so-happy ending, or a sweet sugarpie ending as an extra present, but I'll have to see about that. I really want to write a Bleach fanfiction, so that might have to wait. **

**ENJOY!**

**Small warning; some might find Soul's world a tad creepy. You are welcome to skip the description. **

Soul's POV

Soul was filled with despair and rage. His eyes were now bleeding severely and his blindfold was discarded. He consumed all souls that happened to be close to him. He was weakened by the flight, the constant use of his eyes and the effort it had cost him to break free from all the seals. The other experiments were somewhat strong, but he could see it in their eyes; they were thankful for their death. He was sure he would have been glad to die too if he didn't have to live on for Maka's sake. He destroyed everything around him, but mostly electric appliances.

In the end there was nothing left of the laboratory. Soul had found Boss' corpse, and he had to resist the urge to eat it. He did eat her soul, and he chewed on it, making sure he damaged it before spitting it out on the ground. He never wanted to sense that woman ever again. How he wished to rip her apart, but ripping apart a corpse felt wrong. Boss had done that on a regular basis, he would not degrade himself to her level. He kicked her, and he felt a satisfying crack. He chuckled and turned around. He had to check on Maka, he had to know if he had been responsible for her pain or the worst case scenario; her death.

If she had died, he would personally end his own life, or make Shinigami do it. He pushed a few souls in his mouth. He was hungry and his body no longer needed human food to survive. Souls were welcome though. He was afraid to go back. It hade taken him too long to get here… Maka's life was in danger, or she had died before he had even gotten here. He chewed slowly on the soul in his mouth, suddenly wanting someone to feed him souls instead of eating them himself. He spat out the soul. He'd eat a soul when someone would feed him one. He stared at the misshapen half-dead soul and took pity on it. He swallowed it and slowly began making his way back to shibusen.

He didn't fly this time, and his smile was fading again as his imagination started working. Maybe she'd be doomed to a very painful life, maybe she'd be horribly misshapen and unable to move, maybe she'd hate him… But that last thing didn't matter that much. He knew hate was not the kind of despise he deserved. He deserved his five years of torture, if not more. He would care for her, do anything she asked from him, if it would make her happy. He had decided that long ago, but now it included obeying her over all else. He would murder everyone in Shibusen if she ordered him.

When he approached Shibusen, he encountered a few students, but he knew Maka wouldn't approve of their deaths, so he ignored them. He walked through the streets as if he was taking a stroll, while people and children ran away in fear. He sensed several meisters and death scythes. They were watching him. Shinigami had probably ordered them to bring him in without harming him too much. Spirit wasn't present, and it unnerved him. Was he mourning over his daughters dead body ? Were Kid, Black Star and the others all there, watching her pale face, blue lips and glazed eyes ?

He sped up and he felt the meisters tense. If he hadn't been fearing for Maka's life he'd have been annoyed, but now he couldn't care less. They were small fries. He began running, he couldn't take this tension any longer. He was sure he'd die the moment he saw her dead body. He didn't want to see it. But he had to know… He was panicking now, Maka couldn't be dead, shouldn't be dead, wouldn't be dead !! Never ever ever ever !! Only when a seal wrapped itself around him he knew he should've kept his guard up. This seal was too strong to break right away, and he soon felt other seals caging him.

Shinigami's voice was loud and Soul wanted him to stop screaming. He didn't care what shinigami was saying, he was close to hyperventilating. He was so panicked, why wasn't Maka coming out ? Was she truly dead ? But he had to know ! He could not die before knowing she lived or not !! He pulled at his restraints, but shinigami and the meisters strengthened his restraints. "Ma- Makaa…" Every seal he managed to break was immediately reformed by Shinigami, and they kept adding more seals. Finally Soul collapsed under the seals. Now they would take him away, experiment on him and dispose of him. He could only hope his death would be soon and painless. If only he knew if Maka was alive… Maka…

Shinigami was taking advantage of his need to see Maka. Soul did not want to fight, he just wanted to know if he should live or die. At the moment he was neither alive or dead. He was dragged away and he could tell they were disgusted by him. They didn't treat him with respect at all, dragging his face along the ground, not forgetting his wounds.

They threw him in his old prison cell, and there even more seals were put on him. After the door closed he was left all alone again like he'd been for 5 years. He wished for her voice, her scent, her skin, anything. He remembered the tape Boss used to play. He remembered every word she said on that tape, even the responses he had given her he had learned by heart.

He waited. He waited for what seemed ages. Once in a while, someone would come and question him. Some times they even tried to torture him, but he laughed at their pitiful attempts of causing him pain. He didn't feel anything, he only felt despair and longing. Every time someone stepped into his prison he would ask them about her, but they avoided the subject as if it was an iceberg. He wished his conscience would let him kill, but he couldn't. Maka wouldn't want him to, and he no longer had any reason to obey Boss' orders, she was dead anyway.

Shinigami was a frequent visitor, and Soul's only way of telling how much time had passed. One week, two weeks, a month. He wondered when they would just end his suffering. He felt like an old newspaper. Just lying there, rotten and forgotten, no one caring to throw it away so it could be recycled. Soul wondered if he would be recycled. Would his soul come back ? Be ripped apart ? Maybe his soul could not handle the strain of consuming so many other souls…. Thinking like this was useless, he was still stuck here, with no way out.

He felt like crying. _Cool guy's don't cry._ He tried to remember what he had thought was so important about being cool. He hadn't asked Maka out because it wasn't cool, he hadn't put the toilet seat down because it was not cool… He didn't give a shit about being cool anymore. What was left of the old Soul ? Nothing was left. He was a mess.

And the more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that Maka was dead. She was dead. She no longer existed. They weren't telling him about her death because they wanted him alive. They wanted him to suffer. Maka would never return to him. She was gone forever. Why else would Spirit visit him, only to beat him up? There was only one explanation. Maka was dead.

So he waited until his body would finally allow him to die.

Maka's POV

When Maka opened her eyes, she was strapped down and tubes stuck out of her from everywhere. If her head hadn't been bursting and her whole body aching, she would've laughed at the idea of being an Tube-hedgehog. The room was dark and she noticed strange spells written down on the door. After straining her mind for a moment, she memorized the spell. It was to balance someone's wavelength and soul. Had she been hurt that bad ? When she tried moving, a monitor started beeping and she jerked away her head to try and block out the horrible sound. Immediately dozens of doctors streamed into the room.

"Can--you--hear--me?" The nurse was flashing a bright light in her eyes and almost screaming the words. "T-too….L-lo-loud" Maka whispered, but the beeping and yelling made it impossible for the nurse to understand her. She was annoyed, last time she'd been in the hospital it had been much worse ! Why all this fussing ?! Spirit stormed into the room, and a few nurses tried to hold him back, failing horribly. Maka was shocked when she saw her father, he looked as if he hadn't slept in ages, and his face was a sickly yellow. "D-dad.." Her voice was hoarse and it was difficult to speak.

"Oh Maka ! I'm so happy you are still here ! So happy ! You were gone again… I thought I had lost you ! I thought I'd never be able to see you smile again and I…" Spirit didn't continue as he started to sob, hugging her tightly. A nurse pushed a glass of water into her hand and he gulped it down. "W-what happe-happened ? I only remember entering Soul's world and then….Piano music.... insanity…. Darkness…" Spirit made an angry sound at the mention of Soul's name. "He tried to kill you Maka ! I saw it ! There is no good left in that rotten shell ! There never was !! He will be sentenced very shortly, and I am sure he will be put to death-" Maka interrupted him, and she was surprised at how strong her voice sounded.

"What ?! Shinigami told me I could decide over his fate !!" A nurse undid her restraints and she sat up quickly, only to be pushed down by Spirit. "I will NOT have it Maka ! He broke your heart, almost killed you twice and now you are trying to protect him ?! What is WRONG with you!?" Maka's anger reached a peak and she slapped Spirit hard across his face. "I am no longer a small girl Spirit ! I will decide for myself !" She jerked away from the doctors and nurses who were trying to push her down, and she fled the scene in her hospital clothes.

It didn't take her long to find out it was impossible to escape, this wasn't shibusen, and it felt as if she was running in circles in a maze ! Suddenly she bumped into someone and fell back. When she looked back up all her hopes of escaping were crushed. Black robe. Skeleton mask. Shinigami. She jumped up and flung her leg in his direction, expecting him to block it or dodge it. She was very surprised when she hit him in the crotch and Shinigami crumpled over with a loud "AAAAACHHKK !! Maka What the HELL ?!!!" She looked down at the shinigami. "K-kid…. Is that you ?!" Maka helped him up and pulled off his mask. "Fuccckk that HURT !!" Maka stared at him. "Why are you wearing that robe and mask ? Are you now officially a Shingami ? how long have I been out ?!"

Kid's expression of pain still hadn't faded and it took a few minutes of cursing before he answered. "You were out for about a month Maka. My father has decided that I have become strong enough to learn how to be a proper Shinigami. I heard that you had recovered and I wanted to welcome you back in the world of the sane and living. I didn't expect this kind of greeting though." He cringed a bit as he mumbled something about not having children and not symmetrical.

Maka turned around again and ran in a random direction. "Maka, that's not the way out you know." Maka turned around to face Kid. " Are you helping me ?" Kid seemed surprised at her reaction. "Yea, well, you're my friend, and I trust your judgement. I also think that my father's vision on this matter is somewhat clouded. I was the one who carried you away from the first time Soul set his insanity loose on you. His intention wasn't bad, he was never aiming to kill you, he just couldn't control it. I believe in you Maka, and if you believe in Soul, I will too." Maka had never been more grateful to have Kid as her friend.

He guided her way out of the maze, but he didn't bring her to Soul. "I can't let you freeze to death now can I ?" He tossed some (symmetrical) clothes to her and gave her some food. "Living on tube-food has never proven good for someone, and Liz says my cooking is getting better every day !" Maka shoved it into her mouth as quickly as she could, and almost choked on a piece of chicken. "Mhhm-GULP- done !" Maka could hear Kid sigh as she rushed out the door. She waited for him to follow, but he did not follow her. "Kid ? Aren't you coming ?" Kid smiled at her. "Maka, my father is expecting you to try and find Soul. You'll need a distraction don't you ?"

She felt some tears pricking in her eyes. "Kid…." Kid seemed to be amused at her reaction. "Hehe, don't worry Maka, Soul is in the same prison he was in last time, you won't have any trouble to find him. You will find him, and you will be together again. I'm sure of it." Maka felt her tears spilling and she wrapped her arms around him. "Kid, you are the best friend I could wish for…. Thank you…" Kid patted her head and hugged her back softly.

Maka wiped away her tears, and the old look of courage and determination appeared in her eyes. "I will not let you or Soul down!" Kid smiled and watched her as she ran away towards Soul's prison. "I wish you could think of me as more than a friend Maka… But your happiness is all I ever wanted, and if I can help you achieve it I will. Even if it costs me my life." He turned around and pulled off his cloak. There was no way he'd still be considered worthy of surpassing Shinigami after what he was about to do now. He smiled. "Liz ! Patty ! We're going ! We have some chaos to create !"

Meanwhile, Maka was approaching the dungeon. This time, Soul's wavelength was strongly pressing down on her as if it'd been waiting for her. The insanity was still there, but it no longer bothered her. _A side effect from what happened earlier when I entered his mind ?_ She ignored it and focused on getting to Soul. Again she encountered no guards, and the closer she got, the better she understood. The pressure of Soul's wavelength was making her knees weak, and she almost felt as if she could fall down any moment. She knew she had reached his prison when she saw the sealed door.

Dozens of seals were placed on the door, and she even saw some chains. Seriously, what retard had put _those _on the door ? As if that would stop Soul ! She felt proud of Soul all of a sudden. She shook it off and focused on breaking the seals. Somewhere above the ground she could hear an enormous explosion, and she guessed Kid was creating a diversion for her. The seals were strong, but Maka had enough knowledge to get them off. And when she got to the chains, she suddenly understood why they had been there.

"Shit ! How am I gonna get rid of THAT ?!" She looked around for a moment, and thanked the idiot that thought an emergency axe would be useful in the prison. She lifted the huge axe and brought it down on the chain. It took her long to break the chains, too long for her feeling. When she finally opened the door, she was shocked with what she saw. Soul looked more like a rotting corpse than a human being. The only thing holding him up were the chains and seals around him. "Soul?"

As soon as she had said his name, he shook his head and let out something that sounded like a small whine. "Soul, I'm here." She walked up to him and softly pressed her hands against his cheeks. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his. She took a deep breath and entered his mind.

This time, there was no music, and the twisted world seemed to be dying a slow death. It worried her. The world she had entered had gained boundaries and everything seemed to be losing whatever colour it had left. The portraits were dissolving and the floor was rotting.

She needed him to explain this. And not only this, he needed to explain everything.. Her last breakdown seemed to have dissolved all her anger and sadness. She now looked upon the past as if she was an outsider. Why would Soul kill the one who was trying to harm her if he didn't care for her ? Why had he tried to communicate with her through his insanity ? She realised that Soul was never the cause for her breakdown. Something had been influencing her. All this time something had been raging inside of her, and now it was gone.

Suddenly she found herself in a big ballroom. Compared to the rest of Soul's world it was normal. Soul was sitting behind a big piano, his hands on the keys, but not pressing them down. "Soul." He didn't move, and didn't turn around. "Why are you here ?" His voice shocked her. It was nothing like she remembered and it was far less hoarse than when he was in the real world. He sounded….so…Soul-like. He still sounded as if he was just a tiny bit tipsy, not bothering to articulate properly, and he still had that slightly mocking tone in his voice. She wondered if he was wearing his toothy grin.

"I came to talk." She felt her heart aching for him. It suddenly felt as if she had been parched, close to death, and that Soul was the water she needed to drink to stay alive. Maka smiled and walked up to him. "Stop." His sudden command startled her and she immediately halted in her movement. She was even more confused when he spoke again. "You…Are dead…" Soul still didn't move and he sat like a statue at the dusty piano. Now that she had come closer, she saw that it was missing a few keys, and Soul's suit was ripped in quite a few places.

She squinted and began observing him more carefully. His hands were thin and wrinkled, as if he'd been lying in the water for too long, but his skin looked like ripped paper. The keys were covered in crusts of strange black liquid, and Maka's guess would be black blood. The closer she got, the more pain she felt. She grabbed his shoulders and jerked him around. It didn't have the effect she wished for.

She could hear a loud crack and Soul's arm fell to the ground. The face she was looking at looked more like a dried up swamp-monster than a human. The teeth were black and he was missing quite a few, and she could see a hole in his throat, filled with rotting flesh. His eyes were still there, but they didn't look like eyes anymore. You know those dead fish in the supermarket ? With their blank and soulless eyes, never blinking ? Soul's eyes looked even worse, as if someone had decided that they'd look better when they were rotting from the inside.

It was a horrible sight, but Maka didn't let go. Soul was hurt. She needed to know why he was like this. No kind of torture could do this to a soul. "Soul….What happened ?" She felt tears pricking at her eyes as she stared at the decayed face. She carefully pushed the head against her chest, and made sure she did not break his neck. "Soul… I am still alive. Feel me, I am alive. Can you not sense me ? I'm here, I'm finally here, and I can finally listen to you." Soul didn't answer and she could hear slight cracking from his bones. "Please… Please Soul…. At least, I want to know what you've been through, I want to know what harm I caused you ! Soul, I love you, please, I need to know…."

Maka started sobbing and she resisted the urge to crush him in a hug. "Please…" A pillar next to her dissolved, leaving only ashes, and the piano collapsed, creating a lot of noise in the silent world before dissolving into a heap of maggots that disappeared into the rotting corpses that surrounded the only solid ground the piano had been standing on. She heard a sigh and Soul's form disappeared in her arms, dissolving into ash. Soul's entire world crumbled and Maka was left in darkness. But he wasn't gone. He was showing her.

She saw what had happened in their fight against the strong Kishin soul, she experienced his horrible torture, she felt his despair, remembered his memories and feelings. When she reached the end of his memories she found herself back in the ballroom, tears streaming across her cheeks, still holding Soul's head. "Soul…..I'm so sorry…" She stroked his hair softly, but it broke off and formed a small heap on the ground.

"I won't leave you. Not ever again. I will save you, or die trying!" She softly laid down his head, noticing that his legs had broken off too and that his other arm was bent in an odd position. She walked up to the place where the piano had stood and she placed her palms on the only solid ground in Souls world. She closed her eyes and let her spiritual energy flow. She was connecting her worlds, hoping that I would be able to save soul. A piano formed itself once again, the wood slowly rising up, going from decay to fresh. New paint spread over the surface and she heard the sound of strings tuning themselves.

She sat in front of the newly created piano and she placed her hands on the keys. She couldn't play. But if it was for Soul, she would do all she could. She ran her fingers over the keys and poured all her feelings and emotions through the piano in Soul's world. She pressed the keys down, and she knew it should have sounded horrible, but it seemed like the piano would change it's tuning, just for the music she played to sound good. It soothed the world around her, and she could see colours flooding back into the world. Red was the first to return, and the world regained some of it's former prestige, but for Maka it wasn't enough. She wanted to connect their souls forever. Slowly, her world merged with Soul's.

Over the corpses on the ground, a carpet of green began to grow, only leaving broken tombstones that rose from the ground, and indication of Soul's despair being buried. The skies cleared, the black sky slowly gaining shining blue spots of sky. The entire world was changing, but it still wasn't enough. The decay of Soul's world was too great to overcome, it felt as if she was reanimating a corpse that was three days old; impossible. The force she needed to press down the keys kept getting harder to bring up. She felt tired, and as she watched she could see her fingers shrivelling up, and her clothes slowly starting to decay, but she kept playing. It was either a life together, or a meeting in death.

She tried to press the keys down again, to spread her power through Soul's world, to stop his decay, but her fingers broke as soon as she placed them on the keys. She couldn't do anything now to stop the decay. She was glad it didn't hurt. At least, their death would not be painful. But then, Soul's hands were placed over her own. They were no longer broken and dusty, and his suit was perfect, as if it came right from the store. She couldn't turn around to meet his eyes, for she knew she would break, but she also felt that Soul was no longer the decayed corpse she had witnessed before.

He stood behind her, and gently pushed down her fingers on the keys. The music she had always loved and longed for filled her ears and she felt strength flowing through her body. It was as if she and Soul were now truly melting together as they played. She no longer needed his guidance, their thoughts were connected and Maka knew which keys she had to press. And they played, their music shaping and changing their world until it was unrecognizable. Maka's world had been sad, like a rainy day, but now all as covered with small drops of water, filling their world with a fresh smell of new sunshine.

Soul's world had been twisted and decayed, but now black and red flowers bloomed from the countless tombs that stuck out from the ground. Green matched with Red, and Black matched with white. Their world was twisted, but it was a world filled with happiness, and that turned everything around, from the bones sticking out from the ground to the holes in the sky from which paintings and memories dropped as if it were a waterfall..

When they stopped playing, they didn't need to speak anymore. They were one now. But Maka couldn't help it. "Hey Soul." Soul smiled. "Hehe, I know Maka I know… I love you too."

When the world around them disappeared she became aware of her breathing again. She could feel her heart beating again, and her muscles move. When she opened her eyes, Soul was still the same as he had been before she had entered his mind. But to her, he was all that she had missed during those 5 years. She stroked his cheek for a moment and gave him her sweetest smile. "Hey Soul, let's go chop up some kishin!" Soul's grin widened and he let out a small laugh before turning into a scythe. Maka grabbed him at the blade, but he didn't cut her. She ripped the seals apart as if they were made of rice paper.

The power surged through both of them, each strengthening each other. Maka felt the black blood spreading through her veins, but it no longer felt strange, it was a part of her now. Her flesh pulled away to make room for massive wings that broke out from her back, and she took flight. When she emerged from the dungeon, horrified faces were all that greeted her. She must look like a monster. She smiled and swung Soul around a bit, just to see their terrified reactions. The countless meisters and their weapons hurried away, some other just collapsed. They were no match for Soul and Maka. But her smile faded when she saw Kid.

He was horribly wounded, and clutching his broken arm. His father was standing over him with Spirit in his hands. It was obvious what had been about to happen. Shingami had almost executed his own son without a second thought. She no longer felt amused, and the faces of the people surrounding them paled visibly when Maka's anger radiated through her wavelength. She took a battle stance and readied herself for a big fight.

Shinigami immediately held up Spirit and readied himself to defend. Maka charged and held Soul ready, but the fight ended sooner than both of them had expected. Shingami's chest was pierced by several sharp spears that came from the ground. Kid had killed his father. "I am now Death, for I killed you, Death. I am now Shinigami." Kid tried to stand up, but he coughed up some blood and collapsed. His father toppled over and fell to the ground with a thud before slowly dissolving into thin air. Spirit materialized.

He looked panic-stricken as he stared at Kid, Maka and Soul. "No ! NO ! It's….It's not supposed to be like this !! You….. You should be killed !!" He mentioned towards Soul by waving his arm about. "And… And…. Maka, you would be my happy little daughter again… Please… Maka…" He looked at her with such desperation that Maka almost gave in at this pitiful sight. She shook her head slowly and answered him. "Spirit, I never considered you to be a true father. I am sorry, but you will never be my true father, thus I will not refrain from hurting you like this. I am still sorry though…"

The desperation on Spirit's face made Maka cringe for a moment. She had broken him. Stepped on his heart and crushed it. But she had to. He would never allow Soul and her, and she had only told him the truth. Her thoughts were interrupted by a long wail let out by Spirit. "NOO !! Maka !! Don't leave me too !! Everyone left me, even Shinigami left my side, please, please not you too !!" Maka felt guilt bubbling up from her stomach, she never knew she had meant that much to her father…

Kid coughed a bit, and again blood covered the ground. Suddenly Spirit moved again, and transformed his arm into a scythe. "If I cannot take back what belonged to me, I will at least avenge it !!" And with those words and a crazed laugh he pierced Kid's chest. Kid was dead immediately. But Spirit didn't stop there, he brought the blade to his throat and spoke; "There are more ways than just the physical way to torture someone Maka…." At those words he brought the blade to his throat and slit it across his throat. Maka was forced to watch her best friend being murdered by her dad, and now he committed suicide.

He didn't die immediately, he choked on his own blood, still making pitiful sounds and making jerky movements with his limbs before finally falling still. _**And it started out to be such a beautiful day….**_ Maka nodded at this comment. The sun was shining brightly, and it had been a long time since the birds had sung. Maka flew down, ignoring the frightened and confused meisters and landed next to Kid's corpse. She closed his eyes and said her goodbye's. "You've been a friend, and so much more…. Thank you Kid."

At those words she departed, leaving Shibusen behind her. Onto a new future.

_A happy soul resides within a loved atmosphere and a warm embrace._

_**A/N: Hahaha, I love the last sentence! And I hate Spirit. I made him into an angsty little depression dwarf here. Gah ! Why do I keep turning characters OOC ?! Wugh ! Well, please tell me about my story. Any review is welcome, any flame is welcome.**_

**I hope you liked my story ! You may give me suggestions about a possible next fanfic, or ways to improve this story !**

**~Lanny **


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